mason



(N9 Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

W. MASON.

I MAGAZINE FIREARM. No. 549,734. Patented NOV. 12, 1895.

\E [i vi i i N g ANDREW B GRAHAM PHOTO-THO WASMINGTONYDC gw m (No ModeL) 3 SheetsSheet 2.

' W. MASON.

MAGAZINE FIREARM.

Patented Nov. 12, 1895.

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UNITED STATES PATENT \QFFICE.

IVILLIAM MASON, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE \YIN- CHESTER REPEATING ARMS COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

MAGAZINE-FIREARM.

srEcImoA'rroN forming art of Letters latent No. 549,734,:iated November 1a, 1895.

Application filed February 25, 1895. Serial No.539,628. (N model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

3e it known that I, WILLIAM MAsoN, of New Haven, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new Im- 5 provement in Magazine-Firearms; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the letters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this specification, and represent, in- Figure 1, a view, partly in elevation and partly in section, of one form which a gun embodying my invention may assume, the gun I 5 being shown in its closed position; Fig. 2, a detached broken plan view of the finger-lever of the gun; Fig. 3, a view similar to but less comprehensive than Fig. 1, showing the gun in its open position; Fig. 4, a detached broken 2o reverse plan view of the rear end of the breechbolt; Fig. 5, a detached view of the pivotal locking-dog; Fig. 6, a view in side elevation of one form which the box-magazine may assume; Fig. 7, a plan view thereof; Fig. 8, a 2 5 sectional view thereof on the line a b of Fig. 0; Fig. 9, a view thereof in rear elevation; Fig. 10, a detached view in inside elevation of one of the guides; Fig. 11, a corresponding view of one of the stops; Fig. 12, a detached view in side elevation of the recoil-block; Fig. 13, a view thereof in front elevation; Fig. 14, a plan view thereof; Fig. 15, a broken view in side elevation of a box-magazine provided with one of the modified forms which the 3 5 guides and stops may assume; Fi g. 1 U, a view thereof in rear elevation.

My invention relates to an improvement in n'iagazinefirearms, the object being to produce an efficient, convenient, safe, and durable arm, and particularly to provide against the premature explosion of a cartridge by the firing-pin during the closing of the gun, and also to guard against the fouling of the cartridges by feeding them too rapidly, or, in other words, by feeding one cartridge to a position in front of the breech-bolt before the previously fed cartridge has been ejected from the gun.

Vith these ends in View my invention consists in a locking dog or retractor, pivotally mounted and positively operated,and adapted to coact with the rear end of the firing-pin.

My invention further consists in a box-magazine provided at its rear end with one or more spring-guides for restraining the upward movement of the cartridges above the top of the magazine, and also with one or more spring-stops located below the spring-guides, and normally restraining the upward movement of the cartridges in the box.

Myinvention further consists in certain details of construction and combinations of parts, as will be hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

For the illustration of my invention, I have chosen a magazine-gun of the box-magazine type, but I would have it understood that my improved locking dog or retractor is applicable for use in guns of the tubular-magazine type or still other types of guns.

In carrying out the first part of my invention, as herein shown, I employ a lockingdog or retractor A, which is located in a longitudinal horizontal slot B, formed to receive it the center of the under face of the breechbolt B, as clearly shown in Fig. -l of the drawings. The said dog is hung upon a horizontal pin A", the ends of which enter the opposite vertical walls of the slot B. At its forward end the dog is constructed with two spring-fingers A A arranged to have their outer faces in frictional engagement with the opposite vertical walls of the slot B, whereby sufficient friction is developed between the dog and breech-bolt to prevent the dog from 8 5 rocking too easily on the pin A. At its rear end the dog is notched, as at A, for engage ment with a nose 0, formed upon the inner edge of the depending head C, located at the rearend of the firing-pin G, which is mount ed 0 in the usual manner in the breech-bolt, in which it is longitudinally movable independently thereof. I do not, however, limit myself to constructing the dog with spring-fingers, as described, nor with a notch in its rear 5 end. I prefer, however, to construct it with such fingers and notch, as they increase the reliability of its operation. I might make the rear end of the dog square, but in that case it would not be engaged by the nose 0 of the depending head Gof the firing-pin C, so

, as to hold it in itslocking position in case it should notbcfri'ctionally maintained therein. The saiddog thus arranged is thrown down or depressed into its unlocked position by the engagement of its forward end with the upper end of an abutment-block D, which is rigidly secured to the outer end of a horizontal arm D, projecting forward from the center of the vertically-movable recoil-block D which is raised and lowered through the agency of a hook-shaped link E, connected at its rear end by a pin E with the lower tang of the gun-frame, and connected at its forward end by a pin E with the rear ends of the two arms G G of the finger-lever G. I do not, however, limit myself to operating the locking-dog or retractor by any particular construction of abutment or recoil block, as in that respect the gun may be widely varied. The locking-dog or retractor is lifted into its locking or acting position by means of the hammer H of the gun while the same is being cocked, as shown in Fig. 3, into which position the hammer is thrown by the action of the depending head 0 of the firing-pin O during the opening or rearward movement of the breech-bolt B. For the purpose of throwing the hammer into its cocked position, as described, the said head 0 of the firing-pin is formed with a rear bevel 0, while, for the purpose of enabling the dog to act directly upon the firing-pin for retracting the same, the said depending head is formed with a forward bevel 0 which is engaged directly by the upper edge of the rear end of the dog, as will be described later on.

Having now described the construction and arrangement of my improved locking-dog or retractor, I willproceed to set forth the operation of the same. Normally the rear end of the dog will be elevated, so that its notch A will stand in front of the nose 0 of the firing-pin. \Vhen the gun is being loaded ,the breech-bolt will be shot forward so quickly that the firing-pin located within it will acquire considerable momentum and shoot forward too; and inasmuch as the firing-pin has some movement independent of the breechbolt, the tendency is for the firing-pin to be shot forward, so that its reduced forward end will prematurely strike the primer in the gunbarrel with suflicient force to explode the same and the cartridge; but when my locking-dog is employed the firing-pin has no opportunity to move forward sufficiently far during the closing of the breech-bolt to do any damage, inasmuch as after a very slight forward movement the nose 0 of its depending head enters the notch A of the locking-dog, which then positively prevents any further movement of the firing-pin until the dog has been thrown down into its retired position. After the nose of the pin has been entered into the notch of the dog the pin performs the function of holding the dog in its locked position. This is a safety function, and is utilized for preventing the dog from getting away from the pin in case the dog is not maintained in its operating position by friction. After the breech-bolt has reached its fully-closed position the dog is thrown down into its unlocked position, so as to disengage it from the pin, by the abutment-block D of the recoil-block D for the recoil-block is not lifted into position to take the recoil of the breech-bolt until the same has been moved into its fully-closed position. As the recoil-block D lifts the abutment-block D engages with the forward end of the dog and lifts the same, whereby its rear end is depressed and disengaged from the firing-pin. It is immaterial, so far as this swinging of the dog is concerned, whether or not the firing-pin is hooked into the rear end of the dog, for if such is the case the power with which the abutmen t-bloek is lifted against the forward end of the dog is always more than ample to force the rear end of the dog out of engagement with the firing-pin. The dog having thus been forced into its retired position, the firing-pin is free to be shot forward under the'impulse of the hammer for the distance required to explode the cartridge in the normal operation of the gun. Now when the gun is opened and when the breech-bolt is about midway of its rearwarc movement, the bevel G of the head 0 of the firing-pin engages with the inclined face 72- of the hammer, whereby the same is thrown back into its cocked position, in which the rear end of the breech-bolt rides over it. The hammer having been thrown into this position, its face is presently engaged by the lower edge of the rear end of the dog, whereby the said end of the dog is lifted and the upper edge of its rear end engaged with the forward bevel 0 formed upon the head 0 of the firingpin. As the said upper edge of the rear end of the dog is pressed against the said bevel 0 the dog will operate to positively retract the firing-pin, as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. The dog having had its rear end lifted, as described, by its engagement with the hammer is frictionally maintained in its normal and elevated position until it is again engaged at its forward end by the abutment-block of the recoil-block.

By reference to Fig. 3 of the drawings, it will be observed that there isa slight clearance space between the forward edge of the head of the pin and the rear end of the dog. This space is designed to be sufficient to cover the play required for the engagement of the nose 0 of the head with the rear end of the dog and its disengagement therefrom. The slight movement of the firing-pin thus providedfor is over and above the movement which it must have for exploding the cartridges.

The second part of this invention consists in providing the rear end of the box-magazine with one or more guides and one or more stops located at different vertical elevations,

and respectively adapted to guide the uppermost cartridge as it is pushed forward by the breech-bolt and to stop the cartridge next below it from feeding upward in front of the breech-bolt until the previously-fed cartridge is discharged from the gun.

As herein shown, I have provided the boxmagazine with a pair of spring-stops I I and a pair of spring-guides J J, located above the same,the said stops and guides being situated at the rear end of the upper portion of the box-magazine K, which may be of any improved construction and not necessarily of the form illustrated herein. As shown in Figs. 6, 7, S, 9, 10, and 11, and also in Figs. 1 and 3, the stops and guides are made independently of each other, and respectively secured by rivets z, j to the opposite side walls of the magazine, the inner faces of the said walls being recessed, so that the lower ends of the stops and guides will set into the walls and be flush therewith; or the lower ends of the stops and guides might be set into recesses formed in the outer faces of the side walls of the magazine if that construction were found desirable. As herein shown, the rear portions of the guides are cut away to receive the forward portions of the upper ends of the stops, as very clearly illustrated in Fig. 6. The guides J J, which are correspondingly turned inward at their upper ends, arrest the upward movement of the cartridge when the same is in the position required for the engagement of its head by the breech-bolt when the same begins to move forward in the closing movement of the gun. When a cartridge is first arrested by the guides, its flanged head engages with their extreme rear edges. Then when the breech bolt moves forward into engagement with the cartridge, the same springs the guides apart, so that they will permit the cartridge to slide forward between them. During this time the guides give right direction to the forward movement of the cartridge. hen the head of the cartridge emerges from the forward ends of the guides, it strikes the inclines K of the box-magazine, the said inclines causing the head, and therefore the rear end of the cartridge, to be lifted up into line with the chamber of the gun. The spring-stops I I operate to prevent the cartridge next below that one fed to the guides from rising until the preceding cartridge has not only been fed to the guides, but also introduced into the gun-barrel and extracted therefrom and discharged from the gun. These stops are located below the guides for a distance approximately represented by the diameter of a cartridge, and their upper ends are turned inward, so as to arrest and stop the upward movement of the column of cartridges in the magazine. The uppermost cartridge in that column, excluding the. cartridge fed to the guides, cannot pass above the stops until they are spread apart by the action of the abutment-block D, which has been before described, the forward edge of the said block having bevels d (1 located opposite each other and arranged and adapted to engage with the inwardly-turned upper ends of the stops for separating the same when the recoil-block, and hence the abutment-block, is raised. These bevels are located with reference to the position of the stops and to the vertical movement of the abutmentblock, so that they will not act to sufficiently spread the stops apart to permit the cartridge arrested by the stops to pass upward between them until the gun has been fully closed, at which time the breech-bolt 1-3 has not only completed its forward movement, but also the recoil-block has completed its upward movement for locking the breech-bolt in its closed position.

I wish to emphasize the fact that the stops are not spread apart for the feeding of the cartridge arrested by them until the breechbolt has completed its forward movement, for the breech-bolt cannot complete its forward movement without insuring the engagement of the extractor carried by it with the head of the cartridge in the cartridgechamber of the gun-barrel, and hence insuring the extraction of the cartridge, which, if made sure, provides clearance for the next succeeding cartridge. On the other hand, if the stops were sprung apart to permit the next succeeding cartridge to feed before the breech-bolt was moved into its fully-closed position, the gun might be fouled by the feeding of the said cartridge in front of the breech bolt while the previously-fed. cartridge was left in the chamber of the gun-barrel by the failure of the breech-bolt to move into its fully-closed position, and hence fail to engage the head of the cartridge for extracting the same. It thus appears that it is imperative for safety that another cartridge should not be fed until after the breech-bolt has been moved into its full closed position, and nothing short of that. The upper edges of the stops are constructed with notches i to clear the heads of the cartridges, the said notches being located just within the rear end of the magazine, the body of which has two vertical edges 7a k, Fig. 8, which are located in line with the said notches and in line with the rear edges j and the shoulders j Fig. 11, of the steps I, the said edges and shoulders forming bearings for the heads of the cartridges to ride upon as the cartridges move upward.

To prevent the rear end of the magazine from spreading unduly, Iprefer to provide it with a sheet-metal stirrup L, riveted in place and having its ends set into recesses formed in the outer faces of the said walls of the magazine so as to be flush therewith. The upper edge of this stirrup has a vertical slot L formed in it to receive the tail cl of the abutmentblock (I, the office of the said tail being to stand behind the head of the uppermost cartridge but one when the same occupies the position in which it is arrested by the stops and also the cartridge below that.

The operation of my improved stops and guides is as follows: Assuming that a cartridge has been fed to the guides and that another cartridge has been arrested by the stops, then in the forward movement of the breech-bolt the cartridge in the guides will be pushed out of the same and into the chamber of the gun barrel. Then after the breech-bolt has completed its forward move ment and engaged its extractor with the head of the said cartridge, so as to secure the extraction and ejection of the same, the recoilblock completes its upward movement for engaging its upper end with the rear end of the breech-bolt. In this last movement of the recoil-block the stops are separated to permit the cartridge between them to be fed upward into the guides. Then, preparatory to opening the gun, the recoil-block has to be depressed for clearing the breech-bolt for permitting the rearward movement of the same, and in the beginning of the downward movement of the recoil-block the abutmentblock carried by it passes below the stops and permits them to spring into position for arresting the next cartridge below them. Then in the further opening movement of the gun the breech-bolt begins its rearward movement, drawing the cartridge out of the gunbarrel and ejecting it from the gun and thence passing over the cartridge just fed to the guides and into position for engaging with the head thereof, and so on.

In Figs. 13 and 14 of the drawings I have shown the stops and guides made integral with each other instead of independent, as shown in the preceding figures. In this construction I employ two corresponding plates M, riveted to the exterior faces of the side walls of the magazine N, and each having their upper ends constructed to form a stop M and a guide M the stop virtually consisting of an inwardly-projecting horizontal rib. In this construction the guides are spread apart by the cartridge under the action of the breech-bolt, while the stops are sprung through the agency of the recoil-block or some other instrumentality. It will be noticed by reference to Fig. 15 that the ribs forming the stops are cut away, as at m, in the path in which the heads of the cartridges rise to the guides for the clearance of the said heads. In this construction the rear edges N of the ends of the side walls of the magazine (see Figs. 15 and 16) form guides for the heads of the cartridges in their upward movement. I should explain in this this connection that the inwardly-projecting horizontal ribs forming the stops M extend inward so far that although they are spread apart by the spreading apart of the guides, they are not spread apart sufficiently in that way to interfere with their action as stops, so that they continue to discharge that function until positively spread apart for a greater distance by means of the recoil-block or some other instrumentality.

It is not imperative that I employ two spring-stops and two springuides, as an operating-gun may be constructed by the use of one of each; nor do I limit myself to operating the spring stop or stops by means of a recoil-block, for some other instrumentality may be employed in its place.

It will be understood, of course, that the column of cartridges in the box-magazine is constantly pressed upward, so that the uppermost cartridge is held against the stop or stops by means of a spring or some equivalent therefor. The devices employed for this purpose-that is, for feeding the cartridges upward in the box-magazinemay assume a great variety of forms. As herein shown, they consist of a pivotal carrier 0, pivoted to an operating-lever O, the forward end of which is hung on a horizontal pin 0 and which is constantly under the lifting influence of a spring 0 located under the breech end of the gun-barrel. A11 equalizing-lever O pivoted in the operating-lever O, engages with the carrier and maintains it in right position for lifting the cartridges resting upon it, the forward end of this lever being cut away to form acam 0 which coacts with a pin 0. The construction just described has, however, been illustrated in another pending application, Serial No. 529,259, and I will not further detail it herein.

In view of the changes shown, described, and suggested, and of others which may obviously be made, I would have it understood that I do not limit myself to the exact construction set forth. Thus the spring guide or guides and the spring stop or stops might be made integral with the box-magazine but that would not permit the gun to be as readily converted for different sizes of cartridges as when the stops are made independent of the magazine, whether made integral with each other or not; nor is it essential that my improved pivotal dog or retractor should be used in a magazine-gun, for it is equally ap plicable to a single-shot gun. 1

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a fire-arm, the combination with the breech-bolt thereof, of a recoil-block adapted to engage with the rear end of the said bolt, for locking it in its closed position, a firingpin located in the breech-bolt, and a pivotal dog mounted in the breech-bolt, coacting at its rear end with the firing-pin for retracting the same, and constructed at its forward end to be engaged by the upper end of the recoilblock which positively turns it on its pivot and causes it to clear the hammer, substantially as described.

2. In a fire-arm, the combination with the breech-bolt thereof, of a firing-pin mounted therein, and a pivotal dog located in a slot formed in the lower face of the said breechbolt for the co-action of its rear end with the w r -M n firing-pin, and having at its forward end friction fingers which co-act with the breech-bolt and restrain its pivotal movement, substantially as described.

In a fire-arm, the combination with the breech-bolt and hammer thereof, of a firingpin mounted in the said bolt, and provided at its rear end with a depending head having a rear and a forward bevel, of which the for- .mer coacts with the hammer to throw the same into its cooked position, and a pivotal dog mounted in the breech-bolt and coacting with the forward bevel of the said head for retracting the firing-pin, substantially as set fortln W V 77 7 V W n 4. In a fire-arm, the combination with a breech-bolt, of a firing-pin located therein and constructed at its rear end with a depending head having a rear and a forward bevel, of a locking dog pivotally mounted in the lower face of the rear portion of the bolt in position to have its rear end engaged by the depending head of the firing-pin, a recoil block engaging with the forward end of the dog for lifting the same, and hence depressing the rear end thereof, and a hammer which is engaged and thrown into its cocked position by the rear bevel of the head of the firing-pin and which is also engaged by the rear end of the dog which it lifts against the forward bevel of the firing-pin, whereby the same is retracted and the dog brought into position for stopping the forward movement of the pin under the inertia acquired by the closing movement of the breech-bolt, substantially as described.

5. In a box magazine gun the combination with the breech-bolt thereof, of a box-magazine, one or more spring guides and one or more spring stops applied to the said magazine, and a recoil block positively springing the stop or stops to permit the cartridges to feed after the breech-bolt has reached its fully closed position, substantially as described.

6. In a box magazine gun the combination with the breech-bolt thereof, of a box magazine, one or more spring guides and one or more spring stops applied to the said magazine, and a vertically movable recoil block carrying an abutment block which in the upward movement of the recoil block engages with the stop or stops to spring the same aside to permit the cartridges to feed, substantially as described.

7. In a box magazine gun the combination with the breech-bolt thereof, of a box-magazine provided with one or more spring guides and one or more spring stops, and a vertically movable recoil block provided with an abutment block having one or more bevels for en gaging with the stop or stops after the breechbolt has moved into its fully closed position for operating the stop or stops to permit the cartridges to feed, substantially as described.

8. In a box-magazine gun, the combination with the breech-bolt thereof, of a box-magazine provided with one or more spring guides and one or more spring stops and made open at its rear end, and also provided with a stirrup which is made independent of it and applied to its rear end for closing and stiffening the same; and a recoil-block coacting with the stops for permitting the cartridges to feed after the breech-bolt has been moved into its fully closed position, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

\VILLLUI MASON.

\Vitnesses DANIEL H. VEADER, WILLIAM S. BALDwIN. 

